PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 77 



Feet. Trees. 



39 28 



40 27 



41 26 



42 24 



43 23 



44 22 



45 21 



46 10 



4r 19 



48 18 



49 18 



50 17 



Hatching Eggs by Artificial Heat. 



Mr. W. H. Smith, Dover, inquired whether " eggs can be 

 hatched in any manner by artificial heat by any person of small 

 means." They can be hatched, but the operation would not be 

 sufficiently practicable to pay. " Would a tight box four feet 

 high answer, the heat being supplied by oil lamps, in an even 

 manner, so that the temperature could be kept at a given point? 

 At what point should the mercury stand to hatch successfully ? 

 Do hens turn their eggs during the period of incubation ?" 



Mr. Solon Eobinson. — lire's Dictionary of Arts, &c., also gives 

 all the particulars about artificial incubation. The mean temper- 

 ature required is lOO'* Far., varying from 95* to 105°, and in 

 some cases heat has been suspended two or three hours without 

 injury. This degree of heat may be kept up by any convenient 

 process — by fire, steam, hot water, chemical action, or animal 

 bodies, so it is even and continuous; and the eggs may be placed 

 in a large room, or small, close box, of wood or metal, or in a 

 clay oven, as they are in Egypt. 



Mr. S. Edwards Todd stated that it is essential that eggs, dur- 

 ing the period of incubation, should be exposed to pure air, as 

 air well charged with aqueous vapor is eminently better than warm 

 and diy air. Egg shells are porous. The chicken in embryo 

 could not survive and be developed were the egg kept warm in a 

 vacuum. 



The chairman enquired of Mr. Todd if birds do turn their eggs 

 while sittino;. 



Mr. S. Edwards Todd stated that all female birds that are good 

 nurses turn their eggs over, sometimes every day. Geese, ducks, 

 turkeys and fowls of the air, all turn their eggs over occasionally. 

 He had seen them do so. If you mark the upper sides of the 

 eggs it may be seen the next day, or in a few days afterward, that 



